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Begonia grandis - Hardy Perennial For Your Flower Garden © 2007Visit Our Online Store.For Perennials and Perennial Seed |
Begonia grandis Family - Begoniaceae - Begonia I have not seen Hardy Begonia in any of the seed or nursery catalogs. My start came from an apartment building in a nearby town about fifteen years ago. One small root division taken in early summer has spread to completely fill a four by twelve bed in a spot by our home very few other things would grow, as it is so shady there. But this perennial member of the begonia family spread quickly and has come back reliably ever since. Begonia grandis grows to about eighteen to twenty four inches tall, sports lovely burgundy/green foliage from the time it emerges in mid to late May. Bloom finally commences in early to mid August and it will bloom heavily until the frost kills it in mid October. The flowers are a soft pink. The plant resembles the annual Rex Begonia, to which it is related. Hardy Begonia is native to China and Japan. It is listed as perennial only to USDA Zone 7, but has been very reliably perennial here in USDA Zone 6, and has persisted through -25 degree winters, although we had heavy snow both times. It also usually gets a fairly deep mulch of Oak leaves from a large Black Oak tree. I usually take a weed eater and mulch the leaf cover up and leave on as a protective mulch. It rots down enough by spring for the Begonia to come up through it. Hardy Begonia likes shade, and is propagated by simply digging a few of the tuberous roots anytime during the growing season and transplanting them. A few seem to go a long way, as if the perennial is in a place to its liking, it will spread fully and rapidly. Any spot good for impatiens would be good for this plant. |
